Trauma Representation in Wild (2012) by Cheryl Strayed and Into the Wild (1997) by Jon Krakauer

Persistent URL of this record https://hdl.handle.net/1887/41865

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Engelse taal en cultuur (BA)

Faber, Jolanda (2016)

Trauma Representation in Wild (2012) by Cheryl Strayed and Into the Wild (1997) by Jon Krakauer

Bachelor thesis | Engelse taal en cultuur (BA)

The aim of this thesis is to uncover the performative instead of the descriptive nature of trauma in contemporary American texts: Wild and Into the Wild. It is widely accepted that larger traumas need a narrative to be worked through, yet these seemingly non-typical examples show that narratives need a certain level of trauma as well. In chapter one the contradictions within trauma narratives will be analyzed by outlining the existing research. Chapter two places Wild amongst these theories and analyses Strayed as a learned, critical trauma author and her novel as autobiographical and calling upon the traditions of trauma. Chapter three both compares Wild and Into the Wild, one being autobiographical and the other describing someone else’s trauma. The positions chosen by the authors provide them with the opportunity to both link the stories to larger societal wounds and it gives the author as well as the audience the chance to work through their own traumas.